A NEWS presenter for the Russia Today TV network resigned live on air, saying she could not be part of a station "that whitewashes the actions of Putin".

In an apparent protest at Moscow's incursion into Ukraine, Washington-based Liz Wahl told viewers of the Russian-funded broadcaster: "As a reporter on this network I face ethical and moral challenges."

Wahl told how her grandparents fled to the US from Soviet tyranny in Hungary in 1956 adding that her partner is a doctor at a military base and "sees every day" the price people pay for the US.

She added: "That is why personally I cannot be part of a network funded by the Russian government that whitewashes the actions of Putin. I'm proud to be an American and believe in disseminating the truth and that is why, after this newscast, I'm resigning."

Russia Today responded with a statement accusing Wahl of performing a "self-promotional stunt".